--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-5/the-widening-canada-us-manufacturing-productivity-gap/" title: "The Widening Canada-US Manufacturing Productivity Gap" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T05:42:46+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T06:41:23+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2002" ipm_keyword: - "Canada" - "capital intensity" - "high-tech" - "labour productivity" - "manufacturing productivity" - "productivity gap" - "TFP" - "United States" ipm_research_theme: - "Productivity trends and comparisons" ipm_country_focus: - "Canada" - "United States" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # The Widening Canada-US Manufacturing Productivity Gap Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-5/the-widening-canada-us-manufacturing-productivity-gap/ # The Widening Canada-US Manufacturing Productivity Gap [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-5-1-Bernstein-Harris-Sharpe.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Bernstein, Jeffrey, Richard Harris, and Andrew Sharpe. 2002. “The Widening Canada-US Manufacturing Productivity Gap.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 5 (Fall 2002): 3–22. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-5/the-widening-canada-us-manufacturing-productivity-gap/ ## Authors: - Jeffrey Bernstein Department of Economics, Carleton University; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - Richard Harris Department of Economics, Carleton University; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University; Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) - Andrew Sharpe Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) ## IPM Issue 5 Fall 2002 pp. 3–22 ## Related IPM articles [Efficiency Adjustment of Hours Worked: Two Possible Modifications of a Jorgensen Production Model Barbara Fraumeni Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 103–115](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/efficiency-adjustment-of-hours-worked-two-possible-modifications-of-a-jorgensen-production-model/) [The Relationship between Efficiencies Defenses for Mergers and TFP Growth Robin Shaban Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 82–102](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/the-relationship-between-efficiencies-defenses-for-mergers-and-tfp-growth/) [Labour Productivity as a Measure of Technological Change Ulrich Kohli Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 64–81](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/labour-productivity-as-a-measure-of-technological-change/) [Appendix: Variable Definitions and Country/Sector Coverage for Regulatory Reform Analysis Gilbert Cette, Jimmy Lopez, Giuseppe Nicoletti, Océane Vernerey Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 1–18](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/appendix-variable-definitions-and-country-sector-coverage-for-regulatory-reform-analysis/) [The Potential Impact of Pro-competitive Regulatory Reforms on Productivity and Growth in Canada Gilbert Cette, Jimmy Lopez, Giuseppe Nicoletti, Océane Vernerey Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 3–40](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/the-potential-impact-of-pro-competitive-regulatory-reforms-on-productivity-and-growth-in-canada/) [IPM Issue 49 Editors’ Overview Andrew Sharpe, Bart van Ark, Paul Schreyer Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 1–2](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/) [De-industrialization and the Great Productivity Slowdown: What Comes Next? 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The authors find that roughly 70 per cent of the widening is attributable to the smaller size and weaker productivity growth of Canada’s high-tech manufacturing sector relative to its U.S. counterpart. Faster growth in capital intensity in the U.S., partly driven by higher labour cost increases, also played a complementary role. The total factor productivity gap in manufacturing widened from 3.7 per cent in 1994 to 17.6 per cent in 2000. Cet article documente l’élargissement spectaculaire de l’écart de productivité du travail dans le secteur manufacturier entre le Canada et les États-Unis depuis 1994, la production canadienne par heure travaillée passant de 87,7 % du niveau américain en 1994 à 67,7 % en 2001. Les auteurs constatent qu’environ 70 % de cet élargissement est attribuable à la plus petite taille et à la plus faible croissance de productivité du secteur manufacturier de haute technologie canadien par rapport à son homologue américain. La croissance plus rapide de l’intensité du capital aux États-Unis, en partie sous l’effet des coûts de main-d’œuvre plus élevés, a également joué un rôle complémentaire. L’écart de productivité multifactorielle dans le secteur manufacturier s’est élargi, passant de 3,7 % en 1994 à 17,6 % en 2000. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-5-1-Bernstein-Harris-Sharpe.pdf)